“Excuse me for a minute,” I quickly say to no one, not meeting anyone’s eye as I bolt from the table toward the front of the bar. My palms are slick with sweat as I wrench open the front door and burst into the cool air. The sky is now an inky blue as I walk a few paces from the noisy entrance and try to collect a breath. I hear footfalls coming from behind me, then a small hand lands on my back.
I whirl around and begin to yell, “Lor, I can’t—” but stop mid-sentence to find Celeste, worry and confusion written across her face as she looks up at me. Her eyebrows knit together as she takes a step back from me.
Fuck. I didn’t mean to yell at her.
“I’m sorry, Hoot. I didn’t realize it was you.” I sigh, bowing my head, my hands coming up to scrub over my face. “I have a very complicated relationship with my sister and…” I look up to the darkened sky again to try and find words to help explain my behaviour, but I can’t. I never wanted Celeste to see me frantic or nervous, or anything other than the calm, cool, collected Dominic she knows.
What would she think of me if she knew how scared I was to see my parents again?
Celeste reaches out again and takes both of my hands in hers. “Dominic.”
At the sound of her soft voice, I drag my eyes to hers, giving her my full attention. Where our hands meet is warmth, the clamminess ebbing away and leaving me feeling more calm, despite my rapid heart rate still firing away in my chest. I swallow and don’t speak.
“It’s okay.” She nods at me. “You’re allowed to freak out and feel all the feelings.” My brows draw together and I go to look at my shoes in shame, but she dips her head to catch my gazeagain. “A sister you’re not super close with just showed up, is dating a friend, and suddenly told you she’s moving very close to where you’ve made roots. It’sa lot.You don’t have to have it all together, but youdohave to go in there and be happy for Delaney. She will be sad if you make this into a thing about you, even if you’re not trying to. Feel all the feels, Dom, but do it when it won’t hurt someone else in the process.”
Her words give me the clarity I didn’t know I needed. She’s right. I need to collect myself and weed through these emotions when I have the time and space to do so, and at the bar where Delaney has invited us to, is not the place.
I nod in understanding. I grip Celeste’s hands a little tighter in mine and then drag her into my chest in a big, enveloping hug. Her body is stiff at first, not expecting me to hug her so abruptly, but then she melts into my hold, softening and wrapping her arms around my middle. I swear I could stay like this forever. She leans back slightly to look up at me, a shy smile across her lips. I drop my arms from around her shoulders to around her waist instead. Her hands press gently into my chest, the warmth searing through my shirt as I hold her firmly in place, willing time to stop in this moment.
“Better?” she asks.
I look down into her bright blue eyes and nod, words escaping me again but for a whole other reason. I smell sweet pineapple wafting from her breath that tickles my nose. I could count the handful of freckles sprinkled across her sun kissed cheeks.
“Much,” I say, wantingso much morebut unable to get those words out too. I close my eyes and just breathe her in. There’s the sweet pineapple but also that underlying vanilla and strawberry aroma that’s all Celeste. That I can’t seem to get enough of. I open my eyes to see Celeste looking at me in a way I swear I’ve only seen in my dreams. Her pink tongue dartsout to wet her lower lip and my eyes glance down to catch the movement.
Fuck, I want to kiss her.
“Oh, Bernie, look! Awe, remember when we first started dating? We looked like that too!” a middle-aged woman screeches from a few feet away, awkwardly pointing towards us, still wrapped in each other’s arms. We immediately break apart, looking in opposite directions, heat burning the tips of my ears. The woman wobbles away with her Bernie in tow, clearly having drunk the majority of the bar’s stock given the way she zig-zags down the sidewalk narrowly missing a fire hydrant.
I turn to Celeste who’s wearing a goofy lopsided grin and I try my best not to mirror the same face as a bubbly sensation takes over my insides.
Do we look like a cute couple?
Celeste tilts her head in the direction of the bar, and we make our way back inside.
“What took you so long? Busy getting busy behind a dumpster?” Delaney jests from the booth, practically in Ellora’s lap at this point. Lor has her arms draped around Delaney’s waist, and I can’t help the twinge of jealousy at seeing my sister have something I want so desperately.
“What? No!” Celeste waves a hand in front of her face as if that were a preposterous idea, much to my humiliation. I try to laugh along with her as I sit at the very end of the booth, opposite to Celeste. “Dominic is my matchmaker actually,” she says proudly while arching an eyebrow at me.
“Matchmaker?” Lor snorts, shaking her head a little, her bright burnt orange bangs flutter in the process. “Well I guess youaregood at judging people,” she adds. Leave it to Lor to add a dig wherever she can get it in. “But for your love life? Seriously? Has he set you up with anyone actually worthy?” And there’s the knife, twisting a little deeper.
Celeste mulls over the question a little, sipping some water. “Hmm…well the flat Earther guy wasn’t theworst,”I wince at this attempt to make me look like I didn’t completely fuck over Celeste with that date.
“That was an honest mistake,” I interject, “He seemed so genuine and like, you know, the nurturing type.” I shrug.
“There was mama’s boy Cody. George, the political science major, who made it very clear I didn’t live up to his definition of a First Lady, and then Jude,The Hair.” Celeste winks at me. Although the other dates ended up flopping, it’s not lost on me that the only quality she listed for Jude was his fantastic hair.
“Well, good thing it’s just an exper—” Delaney begins, but Celeste cuts her off.
“An amazing way to find dates! I highly recommend Dom’s matchmaking abilities.” A false smile and something like shame passes across Celeste’s face. I want to ask, but like she said, tonight isn’t about us.
“Okay, back to the game,” Ellora interjects, “We had started Never Have I Ever while you two were outside.” She glares at me, because of course she would send me an accusatory stare for missing a game I didn’t know we were playing.
“Ooo! That sounds fun! Are we making this a drinking game because I’m already tipsy,” Celeste says on a hiccup that turns into a giggle.
“You, my sweet baby angel, are such a lightweight.” Delaney leans over and gives Celeste a small peck on the cheek. “This is just for shits and gigs. Okay, I’ll go first, fingers up everyone!” Delaney exclaims as we all hold up ten fingers. “Never have I ever…” She bites her lip in deep thought, “Oh! Never have I ever had a threesome!” she finally says, whipping her head around to see if anyone put a finger down. I swallow and glance to Celeste who still has all ten fingers raised, to my relief. Mine are all raised and…oh my fucking God.
“Really, Ellie? Wow, get it, girl.” Celeste says with a shimmy of her chest and a wink towards my sister who now holds up nine fingers.
